I miss my pencil: a design exploration book

editor: martin bone and kara johnson publisher: chronicle books year: 2009 size: 240 pages, 19.1 x 27.9 cm isbn: 978-0-8118-6075-8

http://www.ideo.com http://www.imissmypencil.com http://www.chroniclebooks.com

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I miss my pencil takes a voyeuristic look at the design journey, revealing what designers accomplish daily, might get the chance to do once and sometimes only get the dream of doing. content written by IDEO design director, martin bone and IDEO materials expert, kara johnson, I miss my pencil investigates different ways of thinking and approaching design and the objects around us.

broken down into three different sections, the book takes a book at both everyday objects, as well as those we might take for granted. the first area of discussion is that of aisthetika, which explores the senses and the possibilities of how taste or smell might be used in unconventional ways. perhaps as an indicator for who is standing at your front door. part two, punk manufacturing, discusses the convergence of traditional craft and mass production and how the seemingly mismatched collaboration, might not be so contradictory. finally, the love+fetish section aims to push the extremes of emotional connection and how we can develop feelings for even the most mundane, inanimate objects. each theme is supported by four different experiments which have been performed between IDEO designers and experts of different fields, including a fusion chef, a car restoration mechanic and pro-skateboarder. they range in concept from the completely abstract to the curiously concrete, but nonetheless, get the wheels in our heads spinning about the possibilities which can stem from the narrative of design.

bone and johnson’s experimentation represents an unconventional, but guided approach to design, questioning the way we consider and view objects, and providing us with different tools for interpreting things.

is it for me? if you’re the type of person who is interested in what can come from combining steel toe manufacturing and the intricacy of craft, what a computer would taste like, what the little black dress for gentlemen would be, or the scent of your postman, this book is for you.

experiment no.11 was conducted in order to try and find a physical representation for the elements of modern musical life today, which has been taken over by playlists and shuffles. the goal was to make a playback to the physicality of the mixtape and classic twelve-inch vinyl.

a detail of the final result